Chardonnay, Hunting Hill, Kumeu – 2006
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Introduction
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Hunting Hill is a vineyard that was first planted in 1982 and was a significant part of the original Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay blend. Occupying the slope overlooking Maté’s Vineyard, it has always contributed lovely ripe and rich fruit to the Estate Chardonnay. After being replanted in 2000, Hunting Hill shows beautifully ripe fruit with a distinctive minerality. This is Kumeu River’s first single-vineyard bottling of the Hunting Hill Chardonnay.
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Vineyard Profile
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Vineyard Region: Kumeu, Auckland, North Island, New Zealand
- Vine Age: 6 years
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Vintage Report
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The 2006 vintage was a delight from budburst to harvest, and the Chardonnays from this year are considered to be the finest Kumeu River has seen.
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Vinification
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Whole-bunch pressed
- Fermentation: Indigenous yeast fermentation
- Malolactic: 100% malolactic fermentation
- Barrel Fermentation: 100% barrel fermentation
- Barrel Aging: 11 months in French oak
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Technical Information
- Varietal Composition: 100% Chardonnay
- Production (in cases): 1,200 cases (12/750ml)
- Cases Imported: 200
- Alcohol: 14.0%
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Tasting Notes
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The Chardonnay from Hunting Hill shares some of the characteristics of the neighboring Maté’s Vineyard, with its distinctive floral notes and restrained elegance. This site has a particularly pure character that, in its youth, displays a tight and crisp palate which needs some bottle age to reveal the power and concentration that lies beneath the surface. As with Maté’s Vineyard, this wine will improve with bottle age for four to six years.
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Images
Reviews
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Chardonnay, Hunting Hill, Kumeu – 2006 – 92 points – jamessuckling.com
“This shows such bright fruit with peaches, apples and light apricot character. Outstanding purity. Full and pretty with white flowers and talc undertones. Broadens the palate. Savory.”
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Chardonnay, Hunting Hill, Kumeu – 2006 – 93 points – The Tasting Panel
“Pure and elegant with bright peach, citrus, flint and tangy acidity; fresh and evolved with subtle oak and great length.”
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Chardonnay, Hunting Hill, Kumeu – 2006 – 90 points – Wine Enthusiast
"the Hunting Hill beckons you to seek out its virtues. Hints of limestone, granite, a touch of lanolin and Brazil nut. The palate is beautifully balanced, so elegant and natural that it leaves you captivated."
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Chardonnay, Hunting Hill, Kumeu – 2006 – 91 points – Wine Spectator
“Taut, focused and packed with mineral-accented quince, pineapple and iron aromas and flavors, losing no momentum as this speeds into the long, graceful finish.”